This application claims the priority of German patent document 198 41 749.7, filed Sep. 11, 1998, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a motor cycle having a swivellable seat.
It is known to equip a motorcycle with a seat arrangement which is firmly mounted on the vehicle and can be swiveled up by way of a hinge, and fixed in a usage or riding position by means of a locking device.
German Patent Document DE 30 26 789 C2 describes such a motorcycle, in which, for the purpose of a better accessibility of the engine and the chassis, a seat support with a driver's seat and a fuel tank are each fastened on the motorcycle in an upwardly swivellable manner about a hinge axis which, viewed in the driving direction, is mounted in their forward area. However, this publication does not describe how the seat arrangement is held in the upwardly swiveled position, and does not disclose what other fastening devices, in addition to the hinge, are provided for supporting the seat arrangement.
It is an object of the invention to provide a motorcycle with a seat arrangement, in which at least the seat is constructed so that it can be folded up and, in its folded-up position, is held by the seat arrangement. In addition, in its usage position, the seat must be mounted in a reliable manner, firmly on the vehicle.
These and other objects and advantages are achieved by the motorcycle seat arrangement according to the invention, in which at least one seat bucket forms a seat, which is firmly mounted on the vehicle and can be swiveled up by way of a hinge and can be fixed in a usage position by means of a locking device. According to the invention, the upwards swivellable seat is fastened on the motorcycle by way of a holding device which also forms the hinge. The holding device includes a gas pressure spring which holds the seat in a swiveled-up position. A stop can determine the position into which the seat can be swiveled up.
This arrangement has the advantage that the upwardly swivellable seat can be reliably supported firmly on the vehicle and fixed by way of the holding device. Furthermore, it is supported in the upwardly swiveled position by way of the gas pressure spring, so that it maintains this position.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the seat arrangement is constructed for a driver and a passenger, with the seat for the driver being fastened on the motorcycle so that it can be swiveled upward by way of the hinge. In this case, the seat is swiveled about a hinge axis which, viewed in the driving direction, is mounted essentially in the forward area below the seat on the holding device.
In addition, viewed in driving direction, the locking device is fixedly mounted on the vehicle essentially below the rearward area of the seat.
The upwardly swivellable driver's seat according to the invention has the advantage that it has a very simple construction and can be manufactured at reasonable cost. For this purpose, in a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, it can also be provided with a seat height adjusting element mounted on the seat, which adjusts the distance (in the usage position of the seat) between the seat and an adjusting element support mounted on the rear frame of the motorcycle. Such a height adjusting device has a particularly simple construction and can be manufactured at low cost if, for at least two different seat positions, two different distances can be fixed between the seat and the motorcycle rear frame in the usage position of the seat, and if one holding bow respectively is provided on the seat for each seat position, for the engagement of a locking hook of the locking device.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the locking device for the seat is operated by way of an operating device for unlocking, and the locking devices and the operating device are connected with one another by a Bowden cable. This simple embodiment for unlocking the seat has the advantage that the operating device can be mounted on the motorcycle at any easily accessible point.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the operating device is housed in a motorcycle trunk which is fixedly mounted on the vehicle. After opening the motorcycle trunk, the operating device will then be accessible for unlocking the seat.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.